What to teach? A taxonomy of Knowledge and Skills for 'Design for All' Curricula related to HCI

An EU project called IDCnet is focusing on educating the students and professionals who are learning and working in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT) to include the requirements of older and disabled people. The aim of the project is to integrate information and identify core knowledge sets and skills for model curricula in Design for All (DfA) specifically for information and communication products, systems and services. Various categories of knowledge and skills have been identified as being important to include in modules and courses with Design for All content, e.g., awareness raising, reasons for promoting Design for All, and what legislation and guidelines are important to consider. Nine categories and some suggestion of the content of courses in inclusive design for ICT are discussed, suggesting what to teach and why it is important. The paper concludes by stating that the work of IDCnet will be extended by carrying out teaching pilots, by communicating the results to Education Policy and Strategy bodies, and by inviting participation and contributions from interested and informed experts in this field.